This invention relates generally to medical devices and more particularly to systems for preventing injury of patients in hospitals and nursing homes.
Patient falls are a major public health problem. Each year, injuries due to falls in hospitals and nursing homes cost hundreds of millions of dollars. For a woman over 80 years of age who falls in the hospital and breaks her hip, the chances of returning to independent living are less than 50% and the mortality is 20%.
Examples of deployable impact systems are shown in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,819 (Valenti) discloses a safety cushion that is positioned on the floor adjacent one side of a baby crib for cushioning the fall of a child. The cushion also includes an alarm for alerting an adult of the child's fall. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,767 (Miller) discloses a portable self-contained impact device that automatically inflates when a person (e.g., someone trying to escape a fire from an elevated position) impacts the device and can be reset for another evacuee. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,705 (West) discloses an impact cushioning device for bed occupants. The device comprises an air cushion that is stowed under the bed and is adapted to be immediately positioned under the falling occupant when the weight of the occupant is removed from the bed.
Thus, there remains a need for an automatic, rapidly-deploying impact prevention system that emanates from the flooring.